Tigranes the Younger was an Artaxiad prince, who briefly ruled the

Kingdom of Sophene The Kingdom of Sophene ( hy, Ծոփք, translit=Tsopʻkʻ, grc, Σωφηνή, translit=Sōphēnḗ), was a Hellenistic-era political entity situated between ancient Armenia and Syria. Ruled by the Orontid dynasty, the kingdom was culturally mixed ...

in 65 BC.

Biography

Tigranes the Younger was the son and heir of the Artaxiad king of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, Tigranes the Elder (). His mother was Cleopatra of Pontus, a daughter of

Mithridates VI Eupator Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

(), the king of

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

. In , Tigranes the Younger fell out with his father and fled to the court of the Parthian monarch Phraates III (). He agreed to help Phraates III take the Armenian throne in return for marrying his daughter. This marriage, which took place in 66/65 BC, gave Phraates III the opportunity to involve himself in the affairs of Armenia, including preventing the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

commander

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

from putting Parthian interests in jeopardy. Phraates III, together with Tigranes the Younger, led an expedition into Armenia. Initially successful, their efforts were halted by a long siege at

Artaxata Artashat ( hy, Արտաշատ); Hellenized as Artaxata ( el, Ἀρτάξατα) and Artaxiasata ( grc, Ἀρταξιάσατα), was a large commercial city and the capital of ancient Armenia during the reign of king Artaxias I; the founder of t ...

, which led Phraates III to put Tigranes the Younger in charge of the expedition, leaving him with some Parthian soldiers. Ultimately, Tigranes the Younger was defeated by his father, however, leading him to join Pompey instead. Tigranes the Elder soon surrendered to Pompey, who chose to allow him to retain his crown. Instead, Tigranes the Younger was made the ruler of

Sophene Sophene ( hy, Ծոփք, translit=Tsopkʻ, grc, Σωφηνή, translit=Sōphēnē or hy, Չորրորդ Հայք, lit=Fourth Armenia) was a province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the south-west of the kingdom, and of the Ro ...

with the assurance that he would ascend to the Armenian throne after his father's death. However, after a brief reign Tigranes the Younger was imprisoned and deported to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The reason behind this is disputed. According to Rahim M. Shayegan, it was because he remained an ally of Phraates III, with whom he still conspired with to overthrow Tigranes the Elder, whilst Michał Marciak states it was due to his dispute with Pompey over Sophene's treasury.; In the spring of 65 BC, Phraates III protested the arrest of his son-in-law but to no avail.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Kingdom of Sophene Artaxiad dynasty Armenian princes Kings of Sophene Year of birth unknown 1st-century BC deaths 1st-century BC rulers